Process, reactor and system for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils

ABSTRACT

A process for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils includes the step of contacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock with a catalytic cracking catalyst in a reactor having one or more fast fluidized reaction zones for reaction. At least one of the fast fluidized reaction zones of the reactor is a full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone. When used for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, the process, reactor and system show a high contact efficiency between oil and catalyst, a selectivity of the catalytic reaction, an effectively reduced yield of dry gas and coke, and an improved yield of high value-added products such as ethylene and propylene.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a U.S. national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/095966, filed on Jul. 15, 2019, which claims the priority of a Chinese patent application No. 201810778081.6, titled “Process and system for catalytic cracking using fast fluidized bed”, filed on Jul. 16, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the technical field of catalytic cracking, particularly to a process, reactor and system for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils.

BACKGROUND ART

Light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, are basic raw materials of chemical industry. In domestic and abroad, natural gas or light petroleum fraction is mostly used as raw material to produce light olefins by steam cracking process in ethylene complex unit. Benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) are important basic chemical raw materials, in which para-xylene (PX) accounts for about 45% of the total BTX consumption. With the development of industries such as polyester industry in China, the demand for BTX is expected to continue to increase at a high rate. About 90% of ethylene, about 70% of propylene, 90% of butadiene, and 30% of aromatics come from steam cracking by-products. Although the steam cracking technology has been developed for decades and the technology is continuously improved, the steam cracking technology still has the technical limitations of high energy consumption, high production cost, large CO₂ emission, difficulty in adjustment of product distribution and the like. Where the traditional route for producing ethylene and propylene by steam cracking is adopted in petrochemical industry, a plurality of restriction factors may be faced, including shortage of light feedstock oil, insufficient production capacity, high cost and the like. In addition, as the raw materials for steam cracking become lighter, the reduction of the yield of propylene and light aromatics intensifies the supply and demand contradiction. Catalytic cracking technology can be used as a beneficial supplement to the production process for producing light olefins and light aromatics, and can provide obvious social and economic benefits when used for the production of chemical raw materials in oil refining and chemical engineering integrated enterprises.

Chinese patent application publication No. CN1234426A discloses a process for simultaneously producing light olefins and high-aromatic gasoline from heavy oil, which comprises subjecting heavy petroleum hydrocarbon and steam to catalytic cracking reaction in a composite reactor composed of a riser reactor and a dense-phase fluidized bed, so as to increase the yield of light olefins, especially propylene, and increase the aromatic content in gasoline to about 80 wt %.

Chinese patent application publication No. CN1393510A discloses a process for improving the production of ethylene and propylene by catalytic conversion of heavy petroleum hydrocarbon, which comprises contacting and reacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock with a catalyst comprising high-silica pentasil zeolite in a riser or fluidized bed reactor. The process can not only increase the yield of ethylene and propylene, but also alleviate the hydrothermal deactivation of the catalyst to some extent.

Chinese patent application publication No. CN1721510A discloses a process for producing light olefins and aromatics by catalytic cracking in two reaction zones, in which different weight hourly space velocities are adopted in the two reaction zones for the purpose of producing light olefins such as propylene and ethylene from heavy feedstock oils to the maximum extent, with a propylene yield exceeding 20 wt %, and simultaneously producing aromatics such as toluene and xylene.

U.S. patent application publication Nos. US2002003103A and US2002189973A disclose a FCC unit comprising dual riser reactors for improving the production of propylene, in which gasoline (60-300° F./15-150° C.) produced by the cracking reaction is fed to a second riser reactor for further reaction, and the catalyst is a mixture of USY molecular sieve catalyst and ZSM-5 molecular sieve catalyst.

U.S. patent application publication No. US2002195373A and International patent application publication No. WO2017223310A disclose processes carried out using a downflow reactor operating at a high temperature (1020-1200° F./550-650° C.), a short contact time (<0.5 seconds), and a high catalyst-to-oil ratio (15-25). The primary catalyst (Y-type faujasite) has low hydrogen transfer activity and is formulated to maximize the yield of light olefins in conjunction with operating conditions. A high efficiency separator is used to separate the product from the catalyst within 0.1 seconds, so as to minimize secondary reactions and coke generation. In addition, LCO is used to quench the separated gaseous product to about 930° F./500° C. and to prevent further cracking.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,169A and US patent application publication No. US2003121825A also disclose processes employing a reaction-regeneration system composed of two reaction zones and a common regenerator. In the first reaction zone, a heavy feedstock is cracked into light olefins or intermediates that can be converted to light olefins at a high temperature and a high catalyst-to-oil ratio. The second reaction zone is composed of a second riser reactor, where the operating conditions are more severe and more light components are produced from the gasoline product. A shape-selective molecular sieve, such as ZSM-5, is used to facilitate the conversion of gasoline to light olefins, and suitable feedstocks include VGO, HVGO and hydrogenated gas oil.

Chinese patent application publication No. CN1403540A discloses a catalytic conversion process for producing ethylene and propylene, in which a reactor composed of a riser reactor and a dense-phase fluidized bed connected in series is used, a light feedstock is injected into the riser reactor to react under highly severe conditions, and the reaction product and coke-deposited catalyst are passed to the fluidized bed for further reaction under relatively mild conditions. The process can provide relatively higher total yield of ethylene, propylene, and butene.

Chinese patent application publication No. CN102051213A discloses a catalytic cracking process, which comprises the steps of contacting a heavy feedstock with a catalyst in a first riser reactor comprising at least two reaction zones for cracking reaction, and contacting a light feedstock and cracked heavy oil with a catalyst in a second riser reactor and a fluidized bed reactor for cracking reaction. When used for catalytic cracking of heavy oils, the process can provide a high heavy oil conversion rate and propylene yield, and a low yield of dry gas and coke.

The structural contradiction of the oil refining chemical industry is increasingly serious. On one hand, the excessive production of traditional petrochemicals and the contradiction between the supply and the demand of finished oils are prominent. On the other hand, the shortage of resource products and high-end petrochemicals is also prominent. Thus, the transformation of oil refining to chemical industry is an irresistible trend. Catalytic cracking units serve as bridges between oil refining and chemical industry face unprecedented pressure and challenge. At present, the proportion of atmospheric residuum oil blended in feedstock for catalytic cracking units is getting larger and larger, and there is even a proposal of blending vacuum residuum oil. Existing catalytic cracking technology usually takes vacuum gas oil or paraffin-based atmospheric residuum oil as a feedstock, and the most advanced catalytic cracking technology adopts a reactor composed of double riser reactors or a riser reactor connected in series with a dense bed under highly severe conditions, for the propose of producing more light olefins and/or light aromatics. A problem of high yield of dry gas and coke inevitably occurs when such a reactor is used for processing residue-blended heavy oil. A decrease in coke yield can be achieved by using a downflow reactor, but the reaction conversion is relatively low and a specialized catalyst is required. As the feedstock becomes heavier, the demands for blending residual oil in the feedstock for catalytic cracking units are growing bigger. In order to efficiently utilize inferior heavy oil resources and meet the increasing demands of chemical raw materials such as light olefins and heavy aromatics, it is necessary to develop a catalytic cracking process for converting the inferior heavy oil feedstock into high value-added products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present application is to provide a novel process, reactor and system for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, which are particularly suitable for use in the production of light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, from hydrocarbon oil feedstocks, particularly heavy feedstock oils through catalytic cracking. The process, reactor and system for catalytic cracking have the advantages of low yield of dry gas and coke, good product distribution, and high yield of ethylene and propylene.

To achieve the above object, in one aspect, the present application provides a process for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, comprising the step of contacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock, particularly a heavy feedstock oil, with a catalytic cracking catalyst for reaction in a reactor comprising one or more fast fluidized reaction zones, wherein at least one of the fast fluidized reaction zones of the reactor is a full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone.

In another aspect, the present application provides a reactor useful for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, which comprises, from bottom to top, an optional pre-lifting section, a full dense-phase reaction zone, a transition section and an outlet zone, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an equal-diameter or varied-diameter hollow column with a roughly circular cross section, an open bottom end and an open top end, the optional pre-lifting section is in communication with the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone, the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is in communication with the outlet zone via the transition section, the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one feedstock inlet,

wherein the cross-sectional diameter of the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than or equal to the diameter of the optional pre-lifting section and the cross-sectional diameter of the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the outlet zone, and the side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more inlets for supplementary catalyst, each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

In yet another aspect, the present application provides a system useful for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, comprising a catalytic cracking reactor, a catalyst separation device, an optional reaction product separator, and a regenerator,

wherein the catalytic cracking reactor is provided with a catalyst inlet at the bottom, a feedstock inlet at the lower part and an outlet at the top, the catalyst separation device is provided with an inlet, a catalyst outlet and a reaction product outlet, the optional reaction product separator is provided with a reaction product inlet, a dry gas outlet, a liquefied petroleum gas outlet, a naphtha outlet, a diesel outlet and a slurry outlet, and the regenerator is provided with a catalyst inlet and a catalyst outlet,

a catalyst inlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with a catalyst outlet of the regenerator, the outlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with the inlet of the catalyst separation device, the reaction product outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the reaction product inlet of the optional reaction product separator, the catalyst outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the catalyst inlet of the regenerator,

wherein the catalytic cracking reactor comprises a reactor according to the present application.

When compared to conventional process for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, the catalyst density in the reactor can be effectively improved by providing a full dense-phase reaction zone, so that the ratio of the catalyst to the hydrocarbon oil feedstock in the reactor at the moment of reaction is greatly improved, and relatively long hydrocarbon and catalyst residence time is obtained, and thereby sufficient contact and reaction between the catalyst and the hydrocarbon oil feedstock, particularly inferior heavy oil, can be achieved, in the process, reactor and system according to the present application. As a result, the reaction conversion rate can be improved, the yield of light olefins and light aromatics can be increased, the reaction temperature required can be reduced, and the generation of dry gas and coke can be effectively reduced at the same time, so that the product distribution and the product quality are improved.

By using the process, reactor and system according to the present application, chemical raw materials with high added values can be produced from cheap inferior heavy oils in petrochemical enterprises to the maximum extent, the refining and chemical integration process of oil refining enterprises can be promoted, the shortage of petrochemical raw materials can be solved, and the economic and social benefits of the petrochemical industry can be improved.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present application will be described in detail in the Detailed Description hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings, forming a part of the present description, are provided to help the understanding of the present application, and should not be considered to be limiting. The present application can be interpreted with reference to the drawings in combination with the Detailed Description hereinbelow. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another preferred embodiment of the present application; and

FIGS. 3-5 are schematic diagrams of several preferred embodiments of the reactor according to the present application.

Description of the reference numerals 1 Pre-lifting section 2 Full dense-phase reaction zone 3 Transition section 4 Outlet zone 5 Regenerated catalyst standpipe 6 Complement pipeline 7 Complement pipeline 8 Pre-lifting medium pipeline 9 Feed line 10 Disengager 11 Cyclone 12 Plenum chamber 13 Reactor vapor pipeline 14 Stripper 15 Spent catalyst standpipe 16 Regenerator 17 Air distributor 18 Flue gas pipeline 19 Catalyst distribution plate

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present application will be further described hereinafter in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof and the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the specific embodiments of the present application are provided for illustration purpose only, and are not intended to be limiting in any manner.

Any specific numerical value, including the endpoints of a numerical range, described in the context of the present application is not restricted to the exact value thereof, but should be interpreted to further encompass all values close to said exact value, such as all possible values within ±5% of the exact value. Moreover, regarding any numerical range described herein, arbitrary combinations can be made between the endpoints of the range, between each endpoint and any specific value within the range, or between any two specific values within the range, to provide one or more new numerical range(s), where said new numerical range(s) should also be deemed to have been specifically described in the present application.

In the present application, the term “fast fluidized reaction zone” refers to a reaction zone in which catalyst particles are present in a fast fluidized state. The fast fluidized state is a gas-solid contact fluidized state without bubbles, of which the important characteristic is that solid particles tend to move in clusters. When the catalyst is present in a fast fluidized state, the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the reaction zone is generally in the range of about 0.05 to about 0.4. However, in conventional fast fluidized beds, the catalyst is typically distributed in a dilute-to-dense pattern from top to bottom, for example the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the upper part may be in the range of about 0.05 to about 0.1, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the lower part may be in the range of about 0.3 to about 0.4.

According to the present application, in the fast fluidized reaction zone, when the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 from bottom to top (i.e., the axial solid fractions c of the catalyst measured in the upper, middle and lower parts of the reaction zone divided equally in the axial direction are each not less than about 0.1 and not greater than about 0.2), the catalyst is distributed in a quasi-uniform full dense-phase pattern throughout the fast fluidized reaction zone. Under such circumstances, the fast fluidized reaction zone may be referred to as a “full dense-phase reaction zone”.

In the present application, the term “water-to-oil weight ratio” refers to the ratio of the total weight of steam injected into the reactor to the weight of the feedstock.

In the present application, the terms “upstream” and “downstream” are used with reference to the flow direction of the reaction stream. For example, when the reaction stream flows from bottom to top, said “upstream” refers to a lower position, and said “downstream” refers to a higher position.

Unless otherwise stated, the terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art; and if the terms are defined herein and their definitions are different from the ordinary understanding in the art, the definition provided herein shall prevail.

In the context of the present application, in addition to those matters explicitly stated, any matter or matters not mentioned are considered to be the same as those known in the art without any change. Moreover, any of the embodiments described herein can be freely combined with another one or more embodiments described herein, and the technical solutions or ideas thus obtained are considered as part of the original disclosure or original description of the present application, and should not be considered to be a new matter that has not been disclosed or anticipated herein, unless it is clear to those skilled in the art that such a combination is obviously unreasonable.

All of the patent and non-patent documents cited herein, including but not limited to textbooks and journal articles, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a process for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, comprising the step of contacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock, particularly a heavy feedstock oil, with a catalytic cracking catalyst for reaction in a reactor comprising one or more fast fluidized reaction zones, wherein at least one of the fast fluidized reaction zones of the reactor is a full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone.

In the present application, by using a reactor comprising a full dense-phase reaction zone, the catalyst is prevented from being distributed in a dilute-to-dense pattern in the reaction zone from top to bottom, and the real catalyst-to-oil ratio is kept consistent in the reaction zone from top to bottom, so that the yield of dry gas and coke can be reduced, and the yield of the desired product can be improved.

In a preferred embodiment, the process according to the present application is used for the production of light olefins, such as ethylene and propylene, from heavy feedstock oils and further comprises the steps of:

i) contacting a heavy feedstock oil, such as an inferior heavy oil, with a catalytic cracking catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone of the reactor under conditions effective to produce light olefins, wherein the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone of the reactor;

ii) separating the reaction effluent from the reactor to obtain a reaction product rich in light olefins and a spent catalyst;

iii) regenerating the spent catalyst and recycling at least a portion of the resulting regenerated catalyst to step i) as the catalytic cracking catalyst; and

iv) optionally, separating the reaction product to obtain dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, diesel and slurry.

As used herein, said “effective to produce light olefins” means at least a portion of the feedstock undergoes efficient cracking, e.g., deep catalytic cracking, in the full dense-phase reaction zone to produce light olefin products, such as ethylene and propylene, thereby providing a product mixture rich in light olefins.

As used herein, said “rich in light olefins” means the total content of light olefins (e.g., ethylene and propylene) in the reaction product or product mixture is greater than about 10 wt %, preferably greater than about 15 wt %, and more preferably greater than about 20 wt %, of the reaction product or product mixture.

In a further preferred embodiment, the process according to the present application further comprises the steps of:

i) contacting a preheated inferior heavy oil in the full dense-phase reaction zone of the reactor with a catalytic cracking catalyst introduced into the reaction zone from the bottom, and subjecting it to a catalytic cracking reaction while passing through the reaction zone from bottom to top, wherein the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone is controlled to satisfy: 0.1≤ε≤0.2;

ii) separating the reaction effluent from the reactor to obtain a reaction product rich in light olefins and a spent catalyst;

iii) sending the spent catalyst to a regenerator for regeneration by coke burning, and recycling at least a portion of the resulting regenerated catalyst to the step i) as the catalytic cracking catalyst; and

iv) separating the resulting reaction product to obtain dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, diesel and slurry.

In some embodiments, prior to said step i) and/or after said step ii), the process according to the present application may further comprise one or more additional reaction steps, such as catalytic cracking and/or catalytic isomerization, carried out in other types of reaction zones, such as a dilute-phase transport fluidized bed, a dense-phase fluidized bed, a conventional fast fluidized bed, and the like.

In some other embodiments, the process according to the present application does not comprise any additional reaction step before or after said step i).

In a preferred embodiment, the process according to the present application further comprises introducing one or more streams of supplementary catalyst into the full dense-phase reaction zone at a position downstream of the position at which the catalytic cracking catalyst is introduced into the full dense-phase reaction zone to contact with the existing stream in the full dense-phase reaction zone for catalytic cracking reaction.

According to the present application, the total amount of the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst may account for about 0-50 wt %, preferably about 5-45 wt %, more preferably about 10-40 wt %, of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor.

Preferably, the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst may each independently have a carbon content of about 0-1.0 wt %. For example, the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst may each independently be selected from regenerated catalysts, spent catalysts, and semi-regenerated catalysts, i.e., regenerated, spent, and semi-regenerated catalytic cracking catalysts.

According to the present application, by the introduction of the supplementary catalyst into the full dense-phase reaction zone, the catalyst-to-oil ratio can be adjusted in a wider range, and more active sites can be provided for the cracking reaction. Meanwhile, by the introduction of the supplementary catalyst, the flexibility of the adjustment of reaction temperature can be enhanced, and the gradient of the temperature and the catalyst activity in the full dense-phase reaction zone can be effectively adjusted. In addition, by the introduction of the supplementary catalyst into the full dense-phase reaction zone, the uniformity of the catalyst density in the reaction zone can be maintained as much as possible, the distribution of the catalyst density can be effectively adjusted, so that the cracking reaction can be ensured to be fully and effectively carried out, and the selectivity of the desired product can be improved.

According to the present application, the catalytic cracking catalyst is typically introduced into the full dense-phase reaction zone from the bottom, for example, via the outlet end of the pre-lifting section into the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone. Typically, the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst are each independently introduced at a position with a distance from the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90% of the total height thereof. Preferably, the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst are each independently introduced at about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone. The temperature of the supplementary catalyst can be adjusted according to the desired reaction temperature, for example, cold and/or hot regenerated catalyst can be introduced, or cold and/or hot spent catalyst can be introduced.

According to the present application, the hydrocarbon oil feedstock, such as a heavy feedstock oil, particularly an inferior heavy oil, may be introduced into the reactor entirely at one injection position, or may be introduced into the reactor at two or more injection positions in the same or different proportions. The feed nozzle may be disposed at the outlet end of the pre-lifting section or at a position on the pre-lifting section with a distance from its outlet end of less than or equal to about ⅓ of the height of the pre-lifting section, or at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

According to the present application, the inferior heavy oil refers to a heavy oil that is less useful for catalytic cracking processing than conventional heavy oils. For example, the properties of the inferior heavy oil may satisfy at least one, such as one, two, three, or four, of the following criteria: a density at 20° C. of about 850-1000 kg/m³, preferably about 890-940 kg/m³; a carbon residue of about 2-10 wt %, preferably about 2-8 wt %; a total nickel and vanadium content of about 2-30 ppm, preferably about 5-20 ppm; a characterization factor K of less than about 12.1, preferably less than about 12.0. The carbon residue in the inferior heavy oil is measured by the Conradson carbon residue test method according to ASTMD-189.

For example, the inferior heavy oil may be heavy petroleum hydrocarbons and/or other mineral oils; the heavy petroleum hydrocarbon may be selected from the group consisting of vacuum residuum (VR), inferior atmospheric residuum (AR), inferior hydrogenated residuum, coker gas oil, deasphalted oil, vacuum gas oil, high acid value crude oil, high metal crude oil, and combinations thereof; said other mineral oil may be selected from the group consisting of coal liquefaction oil, oil sand bitumen, shale oil, and combinations thereof.

The catalytic cracking catalyst used herein is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, various catalytic cracking catalysts known to those skilled in the art suitable for producing light olefins from hydrocarbon oil feedstocks, such as heavy feedstock oils. In a preferred embodiment, the catalytic cracking catalyst comprises, based on the dry weight of the catalytic cracking catalyst, from about 1% to about 50%, preferably from about 5% to about 45%, more preferably from about 10% to about 40%, by weight of a zeolite, from about 5% to about 99%, preferably from about 10% to about 80%, more preferably from about 20% to about 70%, by weight of an inorganic oxide, and from about 0% to about 70%, preferably from about 5% to about 60%, more preferably from about 10% to about 50%, by weight of a clay; the zeolite, as an active component, may comprise a mesopore zeolite and optionally a macropore zeolite. Preferably, the mesopore zeolite may account for about 0-50 wt %, preferably about 0-20 wt %, of the total weight of the zeolite on a dry weight basis.

In the present application, the mesopore and macropore zeolites are as commonly known in the art, i.e., the mesopore zeolite has an average pore size of about 0.5-0.6 nm and the macropore zeolite has an average pore size of about 0.7-1.0 nm.

For example, the macropore zeolite may be one or more selected from the group consisting of rare earth exchanged Y-type (REY) zeolites, rare earth exchanged H—Y type (REHY) zeolites, and ultrastable Y-type zeolites and high-silica Y-type zeolites obtained by different methods. The mesopore zeolite may be selected from zeolites having the MFI structure, such as ZSM zeolites and/or ZRP zeolites. Optionally, the mesopore zeolite may be modified with a nonmetallic element such as phosphorus and/or a transition metal element such as iron, cobalt, nickel. A more detailed description of ZRP zeolites can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,675A. The ZSM zeolite is preferably a mixture of one or more selected from ZSM-5, ZSM-11, ZSM-12, ZSM-23, ZSM-35, ZSM-38, ZSM-48 and other zeolites of similar structure. A more detailed description of ZSM-5 can be founded in U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,886A.

According to the present application, the inorganic oxide, as a binder, is preferably silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and/or aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃). The clay, as a matrix (i.e., carrier), is preferably kaolin and/or halloysite.

The catalytic cracking reaction conditions used herein are not strictly limited, and may be, for example, those well known to those skilled in the art suitable for producing light olefins from hydrocarbon oil feedstocks, such as heavy feedstock oils. In a preferred embodiment, the conditions for the catalytic cracking reaction in the full dense-phase reaction zone may include: a reaction temperature (at the outlet) of about 510-700° C., a reaction time of about 1-20 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of about 3:1 to about 50:1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of about 0.03:1 to about 0.8:1, a catalyst density of about 120-290 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of about 0.8-2.5 m/s, a reaction pressure of about 130-450 kPa, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of about 15-150 kg/(m²·sec). Further preferably, the conditions in the full dense-phase reaction zone may include: a reaction temperature of about 550-650° C., a reaction time of about 3-15 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of about 10:1 to about 30:1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1, a catalyst density of about 150-250 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of about 1-1.8 m/s, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of about 20-130 kg/(m²·sec).

According to the present application, the separation of the reaction product from the spent catalyst can be carried out in a manner known to those skilled in the art, for example in a disengager using a cyclone. The manner of further separating the reaction product to obtain dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, diesel and slurry is also well known to those skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment, the dry gas and the liquefied petroleum gas can be further separated by separation means commonly used in the art to obtain a desired product, such as ethylene, propylene, and the like.

In a preferred embodiment, the process according to the present application further comprises: introducing a C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or a C5-C6 light gasoline fraction into the reactor at one or more positions for catalytic cracking reaction. It is further preferred that at least a portion of said C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or C5-C6 light gasoline fraction is introduced at a position upstream of the position where the hydrocarbon oil feedstock, such as inferior heavy oil, is introduced into the reactor.

According to the present application, the “C4 hydrocarbon fraction” refers to a light hydrocarbon fraction present in a gaseous form at normal temperature and pressure that comprises C4 fraction as a main component, including alkanes, alkenes and alkynes having 4 carbon atoms in molecule. It may include gaseous hydrocarbon products (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas) produced by the process according to the present application enriched in C4 hydrocarbon fractions, or gaseous hydrocarbons produced by other units enriched in C4 fractions, preferably C4 hydrocarbon fractions produced by the process according to the present application. The C4 hydrocarbon fraction is preferably an olefin-rich C4 hydrocarbon fraction, which may have a C4 olefin content of greater than about 50 wt %, preferably greater than about 60 wt %, more preferably above about 70 wt %.

According to the present application, the “C5-C6 light gasoline fraction” refers to a component of gasoline having a carbon number of C5-C6, which may include a naphtha produced by the process according to the present application and may also include gasoline fractions produced by other units, such as at least one C5-C6 fraction selected from the group consisting of catalytic naphtha, catalytic cracking gasoline, straight run gasoline, coker gasoline, thermal naphtha, thermal cracking gasoline and hydrogenated gasoline.

According to the present application, the spent catalyst may be regenerated by means well known to those skilled in the art, for example regenerated in a regenerator by coke burning. Specifically, an oxygen-containing gas such as air may be introduced into the regenerator to contact with the spent catalyst. Flue gas obtained by regeneration via coke burning can be separated from the catalyst in the regenerator and then sent to a subsequent energy recovery system.

In some preferred embodiments of the present application, the regenerated catalyst obtained after regeneration via coke burning in the regenerator may be cooled to about 600-680° C. by a catalyst cooler before being recycled to the reactor. The recycle of the hot regenerated catalyst to the reactor after being cooled is beneficial to reducing the contact temperature of the oil and the catalyst, improving the contact state of the feedstock oil and the catalyst, and thus further improving the selectivity to dry gas and coke generation.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a reactor useful for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, comprising, from bottom to top, an optional pre-lifting section, a full dense-phase reaction zone, a transition section and an outlet zone, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an equal-diameter or varied-diameter hollow column with a roughly circular cross section, an open bottom end and an open top end, the optional pre-lifting section is in communication with the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone, the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is in communication with the outlet zone via the transition section, the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one feedstock inlet,

wherein the cross-sectional diameter of the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than or equal to the diameter of the optional pre-lifting section and the cross-sectional diameter of the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the outlet zone, and the side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more inlets for supplementary catalyst, each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

According to the present application, the pre-lifting section is not essential, for example when the reactor of the present application is used in series with other reactor(s), such as riser reactors, the full dense-phase reaction zone may be in direct communication with the outlet of the reactor located upstream without the need of the pre-lifting section.

According to the present application, the full dense-phase reaction zone can be in the form of an equal-diameter or varied-diameter hollow column with a roughly circular cross section, an open bottom end and an open top end, such as an equal-diameter hollow cylinder or a hollow column having a diameter increases continuously or discontinuously from bottom to top.

According to the present application, by “diameter increases continuously” is meant that the diameter increases continuously in a linear or non-linear manner. As an example of the “hollow column having a diameter increases continuously from bottom to top”, an inverted hollow truncated cone can be mentioned.

According to the present application, by “diameter increases discontinuously” is meant that the diameter increases in a discontinuous manner, for example increases stepwise. As an example of the “hollow column having a diameter increases discontinuously from bottom to top”, a hollow column constituted by two or more cylinder sections with successively increased diameters can be mentioned.

For example, the full dense-phase reaction zone may be in the form of a hollow cylinder, an inverted hollow truncated cone, a hollow column constituted by two or more cylinder sections with successively increased diameters, a hollow column constituted by two or more sections of inverted truncated cones with successively increased diameters, or a hollow column constituted by one or more cylinder sections and one or more sections of inverted truncated cones.

In some preferred embodiments, the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with a catalyst distribution plate.

In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the pre-lifting section is about 0.2-5 meters, preferably about 0.4-4 meters, more preferably about 0.6-3 meters; the ratio of its height to the total height of the reactor is about 0.01:1 to about 0.2:1, preferably about 0.03:1 to about 0.18:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.15:1.

In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.

In some preferred embodiments, the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an inverted hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezoid, which has a bottom cross-sectional diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 0.5-8 meters, more preferably about 1-5 meters; a ratio of the top cross-sectional diameter to the bottom cross-sectional diameter of from greater than 1 to about 50, preferably from about 1.2 to about 10, more preferably from about 1.5 to about 5; a ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section to the total height of the reactor of about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; a ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor of about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.

In some other preferred embodiments, the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of a hollow column consisting of a section of an inverted truncated cone and a cylinder section, preferably the truncated cone is located below the cylinder, wherein the truncated cone has a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezoid, a bottom cross-sectional diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 0.5-8 meters, more preferably about 1-5 meters; and a ratio of the top cross-sectional diameter to the bottom cross-sectional diameter of from greater than 1 to about 50, preferably about 1.2 to about 10, more preferably about 1.5 to about 5; the diameter of the cylinder is approximately the same as the diameter of the top cross section of the truncated cone, and the ratio of the height of the cylinder to the height of the truncated cone is about 0.4:1 to about 2.5:1, preferably about 0.8:1 to about 1.5:1; the ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.

In yet other preferred embodiments, the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of a hollow cylinder having a diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 1-5 meters; the ratio of the diameter of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1. More preferably, the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with a catalyst distribution plate at the bottom.

In a preferred embodiment, the full dense-phase reaction zone has a height of about 2-50 meters, preferably about 5-40 meters, and more preferably about 8-20 meters.

According to the present application, the catalyst distribution plate may be provided at the position where the catalytic cracking catalyst is introduced into the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone, for example at the outlet end of the pre-lifting section.

According to the present application, the catalyst distribution plate may be any type of distribution plate commonly used in the industry, such as one or more of flat, arched, dished, annular, and umbrella-shaped plates. The use of the catalyst distribution plate is beneficial to enabling the catalyst to contact with the feedstock oil at an uniform concentration along the axial direction of the full dense-phase reaction zone for catalytic cracking reaction, thereby reducing the generation of strippable coke and thermal reaction coke caused by an overhigh or overlow concentration of the catalyst.

In a preferred embodiment, the ratio of the height of the transition section to the total height of the reactor is about 0.01:1 to about 0.1:1, preferably about 0.02:1 to about 0.05:1. It is further preferred that the transition section is in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezium with sides having an internal inclination angle α of about 25-85°, preferably about 30-75°.

In a preferred embodiment, the outlet zone has a diameter of about 0.2-5 meters, preferably about 0.4-4 meters, more preferably about 0.6-3 meters, and a ratio of its height to the total height of the reactor of about 0.05:1 to about 0.2:1, preferably about 0.08:1 to about 0.18:1, more preferably about 0.1:1 to about 0.15:1, the outlet end of the outlet zone can be open or can be directly connected with the inlet of the cyclone.

In some embodiments, the reactor of the present application may further comprise one or more reaction zones of other forms, such as a dilute-phase transport fluidized bed, a dense-phase fluidized bed, a conventional fast fluidized bed, and the like, at the upstream of the full dense-phase reaction zone (e.g., between the optional pre-lifting section and the full dense-phase reaction zone), and/or at the downstream of the full dense-phase reaction zone (e.g., between the transition section and the outlet zone).

In some other embodiments, the reactor of the present application does not comprise any additional reaction zone at the upstream or downstream of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

According to the present application, the reactor may be provided with one or more, for example one, two or more, feed inlets, which may each be independently provided at the outlet end of the pre-lifting section, at a position on the pre-lifting section with a distance from its outlet end of less than or equal to about ⅓ of the height of the pre-lifting section, or at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

Optionally, when a feedstock inlet is provided at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone, a gas distributor may be provided at the feedstock inlet.

In a third aspect, the present application also provides a system useful for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, comprising a catalytic cracking reactor, a catalyst separation device, an optional reaction product separator and a regenerator, the catalytic cracking reactor is provided with a catalyst inlet at the bottom, a feedstock inlet at the lower part and an outlet at the top, the catalyst separation device is provided with an inlet, a catalyst outlet and a reaction product outlet, the optional reaction product separator is provided with a reaction product inlet, a dry gas outlet, a liquefied petroleum gas outlet, a naphtha outlet, a diesel outlet and a slurry outlet, and the regenerator is provided with a catalyst inlet and a catalyst outlet,

the catalyst inlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with the catalyst outlet of the regenerator, the outlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with the inlet of the catalyst separation device, the reaction product outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the reaction product inlet of the optional reaction product separator, and the catalyst outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the catalyst inlet of the regenerator.

In a preferred embodiment, the catalytic cracking reactor comprises a reactor according to the present application.

In some further preferred embodiments, the catalytic cracking reactor further comprises one or more reactors of other forms connected in series and/or in parallel with the reactor of the present application, such as a dilute-phase transport fluidized bed, a dense-phase fluidized bed, a conventional fast fluidized bed, and the like.

In yet other further preferred embodiments, the catalytic cracking reactor consists of the reactor of the present application.

In some embodiments, the catalytic cracking reactor employed in the present application may be arranged coaxially with the disengager, or in parallel with the disengager.

According to the present application, the catalyst separation device and the reaction product separator may be any device known to those skilled in the art. For example, the catalyst separation device may include a cyclone, a disengager, a stripper, and the like, and the reaction product separator may be a fractionator, and the like.

The present application will be further described with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, but the present application is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present application, wherein the pre-lifting medium is introduced into the bottom of the pre-lifting section 1 of the catalytic cracking reactor via a pre-lifting medium pipeline 8, which may be dry gas, steam or a mixture thereof. The regenerated catalyst from a regenerated catalyst standpipe 5 is introduced into the lower part of the pre-lifting section 1 and moves upwards under the lifting action of the pre-lifting medium. The inferior heavy oil is injected into the upper part of the pre-lifting section 1 through a feed line 9, mixed and contacted with the material in the catalytic cracking reactor, and is subjected to catalytic cracking reaction while passing through the reactor from bottom to top. One or more streams of supplementary catalyst are introduced into the full dense-phase reaction zone 2 via a complement pipeline 6 and/or a complement pipeline 7, and contacted with the streams in the full dense-phase reaction zone for catalytic cracking reaction. The position of the complement pipeline 6 and the complement pipeline 7 are each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone. The reaction product and the deactivated catalyst generated by the reaction are passed to a cyclone 11 in a disengager 10 through a transition section 3 and an outlet zone 4, so that the spent catalyst and the reaction product are separated. The separated reaction product is passed into a plenum chamber 12, and the reactor vapor in the plenum chamber 12 is passed into a subsequent reaction product separation system (not shown) through a reactor vapor pipeline 13. The catalyst fines are returned to the disengager 10 through the dipleg of the cyclone 11 and the spent catalyst in the disengager 10 is passed to a stripper 14. The stripped spent catalyst is introduced into a regenerator 16 through a spent catalyst standpipe 15, and air is introduced into the regenerator 16 after distribution by an air distributor 17, to burn off the coke on the spent catalyst in a dense bed layer at the bottom of the regenerator 16, so that the deactivated catalyst is regenerated to obtain a regenerated catalyst. The regenerated catalyst is recycled to the pre-lifting section 1 through the regenerated catalyst standpipe 5, and the flue gas is passed into a subsequent energy recovery system (not shown) through a flue gas pipeline 18.

FIG. 2 shows another preferred embodiment of the present application, which is substantially the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, except that a heat exchanger (also referred to as a catalyst cooler) is provided on the regenerated catalyst standpipe 5 for cooling the regenerated catalyst; meanwhile, an inferior heavy oil is injected into the upper part of the pre-lifting section 1 and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone 2 through the feed line 9.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the reactor of the present application, wherein the reactor comprises, from bottom to top, a pre-lifting section 1, a full dense-phase reaction zone 2, a transition section 3 and an outlet zone 4. The full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is in the form of an inverted hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezoid shape. The transition section 3 is in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezium with sides having an internal inclination angle α of about 25-85°, preferably about 30-75°. The lower part of the pre-lifting section 1 is provided with a catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the upper part of the pre-lifting section 1 and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is provided with a feedstock inlet. The cross-sectional diameter of the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the pre-lifting section, and the cross-sectional diameter of the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the outlet zone. The side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more, for example one, two or more, supplementary catalyst inlets, such as supplementary catalyst inlets for complement pipeline 6 or complement pipeline 7. The one or more supplementary catalyst inlets are each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

FIG. 4 shows another preferred embodiment of the reactor of the present application, wherein the reactor comprises, from bottom to top, a pre-lifting section 1, a full dense-phase reaction zone 2, a transition section 3 and an outlet zone 4. The full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is in the form of a hollow column comprising a section of inverted truncated cone and a cylinder section from bottom to top. The transition section 3 is in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezium with sides having an internal inclination angle α of about 25-85°, preferably about 30-75°. The lower part of the pre-lifting section 1 is provided with a catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the upper part of the pre-lifting section 1 and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is provided with a feedstock inlet. The cross-sectional diameter of the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the pre-lifting section, and the cross-sectional diameter of the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the outlet zone. The side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more, for example one, two or more, supplementary catalyst inlets, such as supplementary catalyst inlets for complement pipeline 6 or complement pipeline 7. The one or more supplementary catalyst inlets are each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone, and may each independently be disposed in the truncated cone section or cylinder section of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

FIG. 5 shows a further preferred embodiment of the reactor according to the present application, wherein the reactor comprises, from bottom to top, a pre-lifting section 1, a full dense-phase reaction zone 2, a transition section 3 and an outlet zone 4. The full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is in the form of a hollow column. The transition section 3 is in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezium with sides having an internal inclination angle α of about 25-85°, preferably about 30-75°. The lower part of the pre-lifting section 1 is provided with a catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the upper part of the pre-lifting section 1 and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone 2 is provided with a feedstock inlet. A catalyst distributor is provided at the outlet of the pre-lifting section at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone 2. The diameter of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the pre-lifting section and the outlet zone. The side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more, for example one, two or more, supplementary catalyst inlets, such as supplementary catalyst inlets for complement pipeline 6. The one or more supplementary catalyst inlets are each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.

In some preferred embodiments, the present application provides the following technical solutions:

1. A process for catalytic cracking using a fast fluidized bed, comprising the steps of:

i) introducing a preheated inferior heavy oil into the fast fluidized bed from the lower part to contact with a catalytic cracking catalyst, and subjecting it to a catalytic cracking reaction while flowing from bottom to top, to obtain a reaction product and a spent catalyst; wherein the catalyst in the fast fluidized bed is distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, and the distribution of the axial solid fraction ε in the fast fluidized bed satisfies: 0.1≤ε≤0.2;

ii) separating the resulting reaction product to obtain dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline, diesel oil and slurry; and

iv) sending the spent catalyst to a regenerator for regeneration by coke burning, and recycling the resulting regenerated catalyst to the bottom of the fast fluidized bed as the catalytic cracking catalyst.

2. The process of Item 1, wherein the properties of the inferior heavy oil meet one, two, three, or four of the following criteria: a density at 20° C. of 900-1000 kg/m³, a carbon residue of 2-10 wt %, a total content of nickel and vanadium of 2-30 ppm, and a characterization factor K value of less than 12.1.

3. The process of Item 1, wherein the properties of the inferior heavy oil meet one, two, three, or four of the following criteria: a density at 20° C. of 910-940 kg/m³, a carbon residue of 3-8 wt %, a total content of nickel and vanadium of 5-20 ppm, and a characterization factor K value of less than 12.0.

4. The process of Item 1, wherein the inferior heavy oil is heavy petroleum hydrocarbons and/or other mineral oils;

the heavy petroleum hydrocarbon is one or more selected from vacuum residuum, inferior atmospheric residuum, inferior hydrogenated residuum, coker gas oil, deasphalted oil, vacuum gas oil, high acid value crude oil and high metal crude oil, and said other mineral oil is one or more selected from coal liquefaction oil, oil sand bitumen and shale oil.

5. The process of Item 1, wherein the catalytic cracking catalyst comprises, based on the dry weight of the catalytic cracking catalyst, 1-50 wt % zeolite, 5-99 wt % inorganic oxide, and 0-70 wt % clay;

the zeolite comprises a mesopore zeolite which is a ZSM zeolite and/or a ZRP zeolite and optionally a macropore zeolite which is one or more selected from rare earth exchanged Y, rare earth exchanged H-Y, ultrastable Y and high-silica Y.

6. The process of Item 5, wherein the mesopore zeolite accounts for 0-50 wt % of the total weight of zeolite on a dry weight basis.

7. The process of Item 5, wherein the mesopore zeolite accounts for 0-20 wt % of the total weight of zeolite on a dry weight basis.

8. The process of Item 1, wherein the conditions for the catalytic cracking reaction include: a reaction temperature of 510-650° C., a reaction time of 1-20 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of (3-50):1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of (0.03-0.8):1, a catalyst density of 120-290 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of 0.8-2.5 m/s, a reaction pressure of 130-450 kPa, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of 15-150 kg/(m².$).

9. The process of Item 1, wherein the conditions for the catalytic cracking reaction include: a reaction temperature of 550-620° C., a reaction time of 3-15 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of (10-30):1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of (0.05-0.5):1, a catalyst density of 150-250 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of 1-1.8 m/s, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of 20-130 kg/(m²·sec.).

10. The process of Item 1, further comprising: introducing a C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or a C5-C6 light gasoline fraction into the fast fluidized bed for catalytic cracking reaction.

11. The process of Item 10, wherein the C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or the C5-C6 light gasoline fraction are introduced before the position where the inferior heavy oil is introduced into the fast fluidized bed.

12. The process of Item 1, further comprising: introducing a supplementary catalyst into the fast fluidized bed to conduct the catalytic cracking reaction together with the inferior heavy oil and the catalytic cracking catalyst; wherein the carbon content of the supplementary catalyst is 0-1.0 wt. %.

13. The process of Item 12, wherein the supplementary catalyst accounts for 0-50 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the fast fluidized bed.

14. The process of Item 12, wherein the supplementary catalyst accounts for 5-30 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the fast fluidized bed.

15. The process of Item 12, wherein the supplementary catalyst is introduced into the fast fluidized bed at a position with a distance from the bottom of the fast fluidized bed of 0 to ⅔ of the total height of the fast fluidized bed.

16. The process of Item 1, wherein the regenerated catalyst obtained by regeneration in the regenerator via coke burning is cooled to 600-680° C. by a cooler, and then recycled to the bottom of the fast fluidized bed.

17. A catalytic cracking system, comprising a fast fluidized bed, a catalyst separation device, a reaction product separator and a regenerator;

the fast fluidized bed is provided with a catalyst inlet at the bottom, an inferior heavy oil inlet at the lower part, and an outlet at the top, the catalyst separation device is provided with an inlet, a catalyst outlet and a reaction product outlet, the reaction product separator is provided with a reaction product inlet, a dry gas outlet, a liquefied petroleum gas outlet, a gasoline outlet, a diesel oil outlet and a slurry outlet, and the regenerator is provided with a catalyst inlet and a catalyst outlet;

the catalyst inlet of the fast fluidized bed is in fluid communication with the catalyst outlet of the regenerator, the outlet of the fast fluidized bed is in fluid communication with the inlet of the catalyst separation device, the reaction product outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the reaction product inlet of the reaction product separator, and the catalyst outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the catalyst inlet of the regenerator.

The definition and calculation of each parameter in the present application are as follows:

(1) Axial solid fraction of catalyst, ε=pressure difference between two positions in the reaction zone along the axial direction measured by a pressure difference meter÷distance between the two positions along the axial direction÷catalyst particles density;

wherein the pressure difference is expressed in kg/m², the distance between the two positions along the axial direction is expressed in meters (m), and the density of catalyst particles is expressed in kg/m³.

Density of catalyst particles=framework density/(pore volume of catalyst×framework density+1),

wherein the framework density is expressed in kg/m³ and the pore volume of catalyst is expressed in m³, the framework density and the pore volume of catalyst are determined by pycnometer test method and aqueous titration method, respectively.

(2) Reaction time=volume of reaction zone/logarithmic mean volume flow rate of oil vapor;

wherein the volume of reaction zone is expressed in m³, and the logarithmic mean volume flow rate of oil vapor is expressed in m³/s;

Logarithmic mean volume flow rate of oil vapor=(V _(out) −V _(in))/ln(V _(out) /V _(in)),

wherein V_(out) and V_(in) represent the volume flow rates of oil vapor at the outlet and the inlet of the reaction zone, respectively;

Volume flow rate of oil vapor at the outlet of the reaction zone V_(out)=m/ρ₃;

Volume flow rate of oil vapor at the inlet of the reaction zone V_(in)=m/ρ₄;

wherein m represents the feed rate of feedstock oil and atomizing steam per unit time, expressed in kg/s; ρ₃ represents the density of oil vapor at the outlet of the reaction zone, expressed in kg/m³; ρ₄ represents the density of oil vapor at the inlet of the reaction zone, expressed in kg/m³.

(3) Catalyst density in the reaction zone (or an upper, middle or lower part thereof)=pressure difference between two positions in the reaction zone (or an upper, middle or lower part thereof) along the axial direction measured by a pressure difference meter÷distance between the two positions along the axial direction;

wherein the pressure difference is expressed in kg/m², the reaction zone is divided equally into three parts, i.e. an upper part, a middle part and a lower part, along the axial direction, and the distance between the two positions along the axial direction is expressed in meter (m).

(4) Vapor velocity=logarithmic mean volume flow rate of oil vapor÷cross-sectional area of reaction zone;

where the reaction zone is in a non-cylindrical form, the vapor velocity refers to the logarithmic mean value of the vapor velocity at the bottom of the reaction zone and the vapor velocity at the top of the reaction zone.

(5) Catalyst mass flow rate G_(s)=catalyst circulation rate of reactor÷cross-sectional area of reaction zone;

where the reaction zone is in a non-cylindrical form, the catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), refers to the logarithmic mean value of G_(s) at the bottom of the reaction zone and G_(s) at the top of the reaction zone;

wherein the catalyst circulation rate is expressed in kg/s;

Catalyst circulation rate of reactor=coke generation rate÷(carbon content of spent catalyst−carbon content of regenerated catalyst);

wherein, the coke generation rate is expressed in kg/s, and the carbon content of spent catalyst and the carbon content of regenerated catalyst are both expressed in content by weight;

Coke generation rate=flue gas amount×(CO₂%+CO %)÷Vm×M;

wherein Vm represents molar volume of gas, which takes the value of 22.4×10⁻³ m³/mol, and M represents the molar mass of carbon element, which takes the value of 12×10⁻³ kg/mol;

Flue gas amount=(air rate×79 vol %)/(1−CO₂%−CO %−O₂%);

wherein the air rate is expressed in m³/s, the flue gas amount is expressed in m³/s, and the CO₂%, CO % and O₂% represent the volume percentages of the CO₂, CO and O₂ in the flue gas, respectively.

EXAMPLES

The present application will be further illustrated with reference to the following examples, but the present application is not limited thereto.

The feedstock oils used in the following examples and comparative examples are all hydrogenated residuum, of which the properties are shown in Table 1. The catalyst used is a commercial catalytic cracking catalyst purchased from the Catalyst Branch of Sinopec Co., Ltd., under the trade name of DMMC-2.

TABLE 1 Properties of the feedstock oil Density (20° C.)/g · cm⁻³ 0.9237 Refractive index/70° C. 1.4914 Basic nitrogen/μg · g⁻¹ 506 Carbon residue/wt % 3.11 Characteristic factor K 11.8 Distillation range/° C.  5 vol % 357 10 vol % 387 30 vol % 443 50 vol % 490 70 vol % 550 Metal content/μg · g⁻¹ Fe 34.4 Ni 4.4 Ca 7.8 V 4.3 Na 2.0

Example 1

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 1 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was contacted with the catalytic cracking catalyst in the catalytic cracking reactor for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein a stream of hot regenerated catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) was supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone at 60% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone, and the supplemented catalyst accounted for 15 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacted with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst was recycled to the reactor for reuse. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 2.

As can be seen from Table 2, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.2 wt %, the propylene yield is 21.1 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.3 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 10.2 wt % and 8.0 wt %, respectively.

Example 2

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 1 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was contacted with the catalytic cracking catalyst in the catalytic cracking reactor for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein a stream of hot regenerated catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) was supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone at 60% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone, and the supplemented catalyst accounted for 15 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacted with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst was recycled to the reactor for reuse. The mixed C4 fraction obtained after the separation of the reaction product was recycled to the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone for further reaction. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 2.

As can be seen from Table 2, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.7 wt %, the propylene yield is 21.0 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.5 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 10.3 wt % and 8.1 wt %, respectively.

Comparative Example 1

A test was carried out on a medium-sized apparatus using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a combined reactor comprising a riser and a fluidized bed connected in series as reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was introduced into a lower part of the riser to contact with the catalyst for catalytic cracking reaction. The resulting reaction oil vapor, steam and spent catalyst were passed into the dense-phase fluidized bed reactor through the outlet of the riser for further reaction. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacted with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst (705° C.) was recycled to the riser for reuse. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 2.

As can be seen from Table 2, in this comparative example, the ethylene yield is 3.7 wt %, the propylene yield is 12.8 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 5.5 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 12.9 wt % and 13.3 wt %, respectively.

Comparative Example 2

Comparative Example 2 was substantially the same as Example 1, except that no catalyst was supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone showed a gradient of 0.1→0.2→0.3 from top to bottom. The operating conditions used were the same as in Example 1, and the product distribution is given in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Comparison of results of Examples 1-2 and Comparative Examples 1-2 Comp. Comp. Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Conditions in the riser/full dense-phase reaction zone Temperature at the outlet of the 585 585 585 585 reactor/reaction zone, ° C. Reaction time, s 4 4 2 4 Water-to-oil weight ratio 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 Catalyst-to-oil weight ratio 20 20 10 20 Catalyst density in the lower part 200 200 60 190 of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Catalyst density in the upper part 190 195 60 110 of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Vapor velocity, m/s 2 2.2 12 2 Reaction pressure (absolute 210 210 210 210 pressure), kPa Gs, kg/(m² · sec) 70 75 300 65 Conditions in the dense-phase fluidized bed Bed temperature, ° C. / / 565 / Weight hourly space velocity, hr⁻¹ / / 4 / Catalyst density, kg/m³ / / 480 / Vapor velocity, m/s / / 0.6 / Product distribution, wt % Dry gas 10.2 10.3 12.9 11.3 Ethylene 5.2 5.7 3.7 4.2 Liquefied petroleum gas 38.5 38.0 26.1 33.2 Propylene 21.1 21.0 12.8 18.2 Gasoline 25.8 26.2 22.9 24.8 BTX 11.3 11.5 5.5 8.6 Diesel oil 12.3 12.2 16.4 14.2 Slurry 5.2 5.2 8.4 6.1 Coke 8.0 8.1 13.3 10.4 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Example 3

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 1 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was introduced into the catalytic cracking reactor to contact with the catalytic cracking catalyst for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein two streams of catalysts were supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone, with one stream of hot regenerated catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) supplemented at a height of 70% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone at an amount of 13 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor; and the other stream of spent catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.9 wt %) supplemented at 50% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone at an amount of 3 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacted with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst was recycled to the reactor for reuse. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 3.

As can be seen from Table 3, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.3 wt %, the propylene yield is 20.6 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.5 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 10.4 wt % and 8.2 wt %, respectively.

Example 4

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 1 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was introduced into the catalytic cracking reactor to contact with the catalytic cracking catalyst for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein two streams of hot regenerated catalysts (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) were supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone, with one stream of hot regenerated catalyst supplemented at 70% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone at an amount of 13 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor; and the other stream of hot regenerated catalyst supplemented at 50% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone at an amount of 3 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacted with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst was recycled to the reactor for reuse. The mixed C4 fraction obtained after the separation of the reaction product was recycled to the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone for further reaction. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 3.

As can be seen from Table 3, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.7 wt %, the propylene yield is 20.9 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.7 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 10.4 wt % and 8.3 wt %, respectively.

TABLE 3 Comparison of results of Examples 3-4 and Comparative Example 1 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Comp. Ex. 1 Conditions in the riser/full dense-phase reaction zone Temperature at the outlet of 585 585 585 the reactor/reaction zone, ° C. Reaction time, s 4 4 2 Water-to-oil weight ratio 0.25 0.25 0.25 Catalyst-to-oil weight ratio 22 22 10 Catalyst density in the lower 220 220 60 part of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Catalyst density in the upper 210 210 60 part of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Vapor velocity, m/s 2 2.2 12 Reaction pressure, kPa 210 210 210 Gs, kg/(m² · sec) 78 82 300 Conditions in the dense-phase fluidized bed Bed temperature, ° C. / / 565 Weight hourly space / / 4 velocity, hr⁻¹ Catalyst density, kg/m³ / / 480 Vapor velocity, m/s / / 0.6 Product distribution, wt % Dry gas 10.4 10.4 12.9 Ethylene 5.3 5.7 3.7 Liquefied petroleum gas 37.9 38.5 26.1 Propylene 20.6 20.9 12.8 C4 fraction 12.8 8.0 10.5 Gasoline 26.3 25.7 22.9 BTX 11.5 11.7 5.5 Diesel oil 12.1 12.0 16.4 Slurry 5.1 5.1 8.4 Coke 8.2 8.3 13.3 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Example 5

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 2 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was introduced into the catalytic cracking reactor to contact with a cooled catalytic cracking catalyst for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein a stream of cooled regenerated catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) was supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone at 60% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone, and the supplemented catalyst accounted for 15 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacts with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst is cooled by a cooler and then recycled to the reactor for reuse. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 4.

As can be seen from Table 4, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.3 wt %, the propylene yield is 21.6 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.5 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 9.9 wt % and 8.1 wt %, respectively.

Example 6

This example was carried out in accordance with the process flow shown in FIG. 2 on a medium-sized apparatus, using the hydrogenated residuum as feedstock oil, the DMMC-2 catalyst as catalyst, and a catalytic cracking reactor with a full dense-phase reaction zone as the reactor. A preheated feedstock oil was introduced into the catalytic cracking reactor to contact with a cooled catalytic cracking catalyst for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein a stream of cooled regenerated catalyst (with a carbon content of 0.05 wt %) was supplemented to the full dense-phase reaction zone at 60% of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone, and the supplemented catalyst accounted for 15 wt % of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor. The catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was controlled to be distributed in a full dense-phase pattern, so that the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone was within the range of 0.1-0.2 from bottom to top. The reaction effluent was passed into a closed cyclone, where the reaction product and the spent catalyst were quickly separated, and the reaction product was further separated in a product separation system according to the distillation range. The spent catalyst was passed into a stripper under the action of gravity, the hydrocarbon vapors adsorbed on the spent catalyst were stripped by steam, the stripped catalyst was directly passed into a regenerator without heat exchange and contacts with air for regeneration by coke burning, and the regenerated catalyst is cooled by a cooler and then recycled to the reactor for reuse. The mixed C4 fraction obtained after the separation of the reaction product was recycled to the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone for further reaction. The operating conditions used and the product distribution are listed in Table 4.

As can be seen from Table 4, in this example, the ethylene yield is 5.7 wt %, the propylene yield is 22.0 wt %, the light aromatics yield is 11.7 wt %, and the dry gas and coke yields are 10.0 wt % and 8.2 wt %, respectively.

TABLE 4 Comparison of results of Examples 5-6 and Comparative Example 1 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Comp. Ex. 1 Conditions in the riser/full dense-phase reaction zone Temperature of regenerated 695 695 705 catalyst, ° C. Temperature of the cooled 680 680 / regenerated catalyst introduced into the reactor, ° C. Temperature at the outlet of 575 575 585 the reactor/reaction zone, ° C. Reaction time, s 4 4 2 Water-to-oil weight ratio 0.25 0.25 0.25 Catalyst-to-oil weight ratio 23 23 10 Catalyst density in the lower 200 200 60 part of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Catalyst density in the upper 195 195 60 part of the reaction zone, kg/m³ Vapor velocity, m/s 2 2.2 12 Reaction pressure, kPa 210 210 210 Gs, kg/(m² · sec) 79 81 300 Conditions in the dense-phase fluidized bed Temperature at the reactor outlet, ° C. / / 565 Weight hourly space velocity, hr⁻¹ / / 4 Catalyst density, kg/m³ / / 480 Vapor velocity, m/s / / 0.6 Product distribution, wt % Dry gas 9.9 10.0 12.9 Ethylene 5.3 5.7 3.7 Liquefied petroleum gas 39.5 39.9 26.1 Propylene 21.6 22.0 12.8 C4 fraction 12.8 8.0 10.5 Gasoline 25.3 24.8 22.9 BTX 11.5 11.7 5.5 Diesel oil 12.1 12.0 16.4 Slurry 5.1 5.1 8.4 Coke 8.1 8.2 13.3 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

From the results of Examples 1-6, it can be seen that the process according to the present application shows higher yields of ethylene, propylene and light aromatics, while providing lower yields of dry gas and coke.

Preferred embodiments of the present application have been described in detail above, but the present application is not limited to the details of the above embodiments. Various modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present application within the inventive concept thereof, and those modifications should fall within the scope of the present application.

It should be noted that, various features described in the above-described embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner, where there is no confliction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, those possible combinations are not described in the present application.

In addition, various embodiments of the present application may also be combined arbitrarily, and those combinations should also be considered as a part of the present application, as long as they do not depart from the spirit of the present application. 

1. A process for the catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, comprising the step of contacting a hydrocarbon oil feedstock, particularly a heavy feedstock oil, with a catalytic cracking catalyst for reaction in a reactor comprising one or more fast fluidized reaction zones, wherein at least one of the fast fluidized reaction zones of the reactor is a full dense-phase reaction zone, and the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone.
 2. The process according to claim 1, which is used for the production of light olefins from heavy feedstock oils, and further comprises the steps of: i) contacting the heavy feedstock oil, such as an inferior heavy oil, with the catalytic cracking catalyst in the full dense-phase reaction zone of the reactor for reaction under conditions effective to produce light olefins, wherein the axial solid fraction ε of the catalyst is controlled within a range of about 0.1 to about 0.2 throughout the full dense-phase reaction zone of the reactor; ii) separating the reaction effluent from the reactor to obtain a reaction product rich in light olefins and a spent catalyst; iii) regenerating the spent catalyst and recycling at least a portion of the resulting regenerated catalyst to step i) as the catalytic cracking catalyst; and iv) optionally, separating the reaction product to obtain dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, diesel and slurry.
 3. The process according to claim 1, further comprising: introducing one or more streams of supplementary catalyst into the full dense-phase reaction zone at a position downstream of the position where the catalytic cracking catalyst is introduced into the full dense-phase reaction zone, and contacting the supplementary catalyst with the material in the full dense-phase reaction zone for catalytic cracking reaction, wherein the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst each independently has a carbon content of about 0-1.0 wt %, and is each independently selected from regenerated, spent or semi-regenerated catalytic cracking catalysts, and the total amount of the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst accounts for about 0-50 wt %, preferably about 5-45 wt %, more preferably about 10-40 wt %, of the catalyst circulation rate of the reactor, the one or more streams of supplementary catalyst is each independently introduced at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.
 4. The process according to claim 1, further comprising: introducing a C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or a C5-C6 light gasoline fraction into the reactor at one or more positions for catalytic cracking reaction; preferably, at least a portion of the C4 hydrocarbon fraction and/or C5-C6 light gasoline fraction is introduced at a position upstream of the position where the hydrocarbon oil feedstock is introduced into the reactor.
 5. The process according to claim 1, wherein the catalytic cracking catalyst comprises, based on the dry weight of the catalytic cracking catalyst, about 1-50 wt %, preferably about 5-45 wt %, more preferably about 10-40 wt %, of a zeolite; about 5-99 wt %, preferably about 10-80 wt %, more preferably about 20-70 wt %, of an inorganic oxide, and about 0-70 wt %, preferably about 5-60 wt %, more preferably about 10-50 wt %, of a clay; wherein the zeolite comprises a mesopore zeolite selected from the group consisting of ZSM zeolites, ZRP zeolites, and combinations thereof, and optionally a macropore zeolite selected from the group consisting of rare earth exchanged Y-type zeolite, rare earth exchanged HY type zeolite, ultrastable Y-type zeolite, high-silica Y-type zeolite, and combinations thereof; preferably, the mesopore zeolite accounts for about 0-50 wt %, preferably about 0-20 wt %, of the total weight of the zeolite on a dry weight basis.
 6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the reaction conditions in the full dense-phase reaction zone include: a reaction temperature of about 510-700° C., a reaction time of about 1-20 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of about 3:1 to about 50:1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of about 0.03:1 to about 0.8:1, a catalyst density of about 120-290 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of about 0.8-2.5 m/s, a reaction pressure of about 130-450 kPa, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of about 15-150 kg/(m²·sec); preferably, the reaction conditions in the full dense-phase reaction zone include: a reaction temperature of about 550-650° C., a reaction time of about 3-15 seconds, a catalyst-to-oil weight ratio of about 10:1 to about 30:1, a water-to-oil weight ratio of about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1, a catalyst density of about 150-250 kg/m³, a vapor velocity of about 1-1.8 m/s, a reaction pressure of about 130-450 kPa, and a catalyst mass flow rate, G_(s), of about 20-130 kg/(m²·sec).
 7. The process according to claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon oil feedstock is a heavy feedstock oil, the properties of which meet at least one of the following criteria: a density at 20° C. of about 850-1000 kg/m³, a carbon residue of about 2-10 wt %, a total nickel and vanadium content of about 2-30 ppm, and a characterization factor K of less than about 12.1; preferably, the properties of the heavy feedstock oil meet at least one of the following criteria: a density at 20° C. of about 890-940 kg/m³, a carbon residue of about 2-8 wt %, a total nickel and vanadium content of about 5-20 ppm, and a characterization factor K of less than about 12.0.
 8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the hydrocarbon oil feedstock is a heavy feedstock oil selected from heavy petroleum hydrocarbons, other mineral oils, and combinations thereof; wherein the heavy petroleum hydrocarbon is selected from the group consisting of vacuum residuum, inferior atmospheric residuum, inferior hydrogenated residuum, coker gas oil, deasphalted oil, vacuum gas oil, high acid value crude oil, high metal crude oil, and combinations thereof; and said other mineral oil is selected from the group consisting of coal liquefaction oil, oil sand bitumen, shale oil, and combinations thereof.
 9. A reactor useful for carrying out the process for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils according to claim 1, particularly heavy feedstock oils, comprises, from bottom to top, an optional pre-lifting section, a full dense-phase reaction zone, a transition section and an outlet zone, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an equal-diameter or varied-diameter hollow column with a roughly circular cross section, an open bottom end and an open top end, the optional pre-lifting section is in communication with the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone, the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is in communication with the outlet zone through the transition section, the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one catalytic cracking catalyst inlet, and the optional pre-lifting section and/or the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with at least one feedstock inlet, wherein the cross-sectional diameter of the bottom end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than or equal to the diameter of the optional pre-lifting section and the cross-sectional diameter of the top end of the full dense-phase reaction zone is greater than the diameter of the outlet zone, and the side wall of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with one or more inlets for supplementary catalyst, each independently disposed at a height within the range of from greater than 0% to about 90%, preferably about 20-80%, more preferably about 30-75%, of the total height of the full dense-phase reaction zone.
 10. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an equal-diameter hollow cylinder, or a hollow column having a diameter increases continuously or discontinuously from bottom to top, such as in the form of an inverted hollow truncated cone, a hollow column constituted by two or more cylinder sections with successively increased diameters, a hollow column constituted by two or more sections of inverted truncated cones with successively increased diameters, or a hollow column constituted by one or more cylinder sections and one or more sections of inverted truncated cones; preferably, the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with a catalyst distribution plate.
 11. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the pre-lifting section has a diameter of about 0.2-5 meters, preferably about 0.4-4 meters, more preferably about 0.6-3 meters; and a ratio of its height to the total height of the reactor of about 0.01:1 to about 0.2:1, preferably about 0.03:1 to about 0.18:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.15:1.
 12. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; and the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.
 13. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of an inverted hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezoid, which has a bottom cross-sectional diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 0.5-8 meters, more preferably about 1-5 meters; a ratio of the top cross-sectional diameter to the bottom cross-sectional diameter of from greater than 1 to about 50, preferably about 1.2 to about 10, more preferably about 1.5 to about 5; and a ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section to the total height of the reactor of about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; and the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.
 14. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of a hollow column consisting of, from bottom to top, a section of an inverted truncated cone and a cylinder section, wherein the truncated cone has a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezoid, a bottom cross-sectional diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 0.5-8 meters, more preferably about 1-5 meters; a ratio of the top cross-sectional diameter to the bottom cross-sectional diameter of from greater than 1 to about 50, preferably about 1.2 to about 10, more preferably about 1.5 to about 5; the diameter of the cylinder is approximately the same as top cross-sectional diameter of the truncated cone, the ratio of the height of the cylinder to the height of the truncated cone is about 0.4:1 to about 2.5:1, preferably about 0.8:1 to about 1.5:1; the ratio of the diameter of the maximum cross-section of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1; and the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1.
 15. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the full dense-phase reaction zone is in the form of a hollow cylinder having a diameter of about 0.2-10 meters, preferably about 1-5 meters, and the ratio of the diameter of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.005:1 to about 1:1, preferably about 0.01:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.05:1 to about 0.5:1, and the ratio of the height of the full dense-phase reaction zone to the total height of the reactor is about 0.1:1 to about 0.9:1, preferably about 0.15:1 to about 0.8:1, more preferably about 0.2:1 to about 0.75:1, preferably, the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone is provided with a catalyst distribution plate.
 16. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the ratio of the height of the transition section to the total height of the reactor is about 0.01:1 to about 0.1:1, preferably about 0.02:1 to about 0.05:1; preferably, the transition section is in the form of a hollow truncated cone with a longitudinal section of an isosceles trapezium with sides having an internal inclination angle α of about 25-85°, preferably about 30-75°.
 17. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the outlet zone has a diameter of about 0.2-5 meters, preferably about 0.4-4 meters, more preferably about 0.6-3 meters, and a ratio of its height to the total height of the reactor of about 0.05:1 to about 0.2:1, preferably about 0.08:1 to about 0.18:1, more preferably about 0.1:1 to about 0.15:1, more preferably about 0.1:1 to about 0.15:1, and the outlet end of the outlet zone can be open or can be directly connected with the inlet of the cyclone.
 18. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the at least one feedstock inlets is each independently disposed on the pre-lifting section at a position with a distance from its outlet end of less than or equal to about ⅓ of the height of the pre-lifting section, at the outlet end of the pre-lifting section, or at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone, optionally, when a feedstock inlet is provided at the bottom of the full dense-phase reaction zone, a gas distributor may be provided at said feedstock inlet.
 19. A system useful for catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon oils, particularly heavy feedstock oils, comprises a catalytic cracking reactor, a catalyst separation device, an optional reaction product separator, and a regenerator, wherein the catalytic cracking reactor is provided with a catalyst inlet at the bottom, a feedstock inlet at the lower part and an outlet at the top, the catalyst separation device is provided with an inlet, a catalyst outlet and a reaction product outlet, the optional reaction product separator is provided with a reaction product inlet, a dry gas outlet, a liquefied petroleum gas outlet, a naphtha outlet, a DIESEL outlet and a slurry outlet, and the regenerator is provided with a catalyst inlet and a catalyst outlet, the catalyst inlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with the catalyst outlet of the regenerator, the outlet of the catalytic cracking reactor is in fluid communication with the inlet of the catalyst separation device, the reaction product outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the reaction product inlet of the optional reaction product separator, the catalyst outlet of the catalyst separation device is in fluid communication with the catalyst inlet of the regenerator, wherein the catalytic cracking reactor comprises a reactor according to claim
 9. 20. The process according to claim 2, wherein the process further comprises, prior to said step i) and/or after said step ii), one or more additional reaction steps selecting from catalytic cracking and catalytic isomerization carried out in other types of reaction zones selected from a dilute-phase transport fluidized bed, a dense-phase fluidized bed, and a conventional fast fluidized bed.
 21. The reactor according to claim 9, wherein the reactor further comprises one or more reaction zones of other forms selected from a dilute-phase transport fluidized bed, a dense-phase fluidized bed, and a conventional fast fluidized bed, at the upstream of the full dense-phase reaction zone, preferably between the optional pre-lifting section and the full dense-phase reaction zone, and/or at the downstream of the full dense-phase reaction zone, preferably between the transition section and the outlet zone. 